Announcement • Jul 23
Ashley Gold Corp. Initializes Phase III Drilling On Tak And Extends Surface Expression Of The NTZ Vein To 300m
Ashley Gold Corp. has mobilized drill crews for a Phase III drill program on its wholly-owned Tak property in Northwestern Ontario. The new campaign will target strike and step-out extensions on the 67Z and Northern Trench Zone (NTZ), where recent surface prospecting has extended the NTZ vein expression to 300 meters. Phase III Drilling Launch: Targeting high-priority step-outs along the 67Z and exploratory drilling to probe the NTZ depth. 300m Strike Extension in the NTZ: Successful prospecting and mapping have extended the NTZ vein’s surface expression to 300 meters, remaining open along strike. The vein parallels or splays off of the >1 km resistive body, which lies South. Recent Surface Success: Follows historical highs and recent grab sampling returning grades up to 398 g/t Au. Fully Funded: The program is supported by a strong treasury and a recent follow-on financing raise of up to $500,000 to support increased meterage. Tranche 1 was announced closed on July 15, 2026, raising CAD 375,034.01. Following recent prospecting success on the Northern Trench Zone (NTZ), which returned some of the highest-grade grab samples in the property's history, Ashley’s geological team has successfully mapped and defined the surface extension of the NTZ vein system to 300 meters. The mineralization remains open along strike and at depth, presenting a highly compelling target for immediate subsurface testing. This third drill campaign will focus on high-priority targets along the strike of the 67Z and NTZ trends. The Company has designed the program for approximately 50-meter step-outs to test the down-dip and lateral continuity of these high-grade structures. Drilling is slated to utilize shallow to medium-depth holes to maximize geological understanding and identify bulk-tonnage potential. This phase of drilling builds on a highly successful operational season, supported by an upsized flow-through and non-flow-through financing recently closed by the Company. These funds ensure continuous operational momentum and meterage as the Company actively awaits assays from preceding Phase II drillholes (including TAK-26-07 and TAK-26-08). Situated abutting the Northeast of the Goliath Gold Complex, the Tak Patents have been the subject of intermittent exploration efforts from the 1900’s, with legendary companies like Lac Minerals (Barrick) and Cominco (Teck) exploring in and around the patented ground. At least two surveys were flown, with the most detailed mapping occurring in the late 1900’s. Within the patented boundary, only 11 historic holes were ever recorded from two operators - in 1999 and 2002. After 2002, the project sat idle for 24 years until acquired by the Company. In 2026, mere weeks after acquisition, Ashley commissioned the first modern IP survey. The results highlighted a +1km resistive body, with two main chargeable units flanking the resistive body to the North. Ashley engaged 518 Drilling Ltd., deploying equipment into the patents for continued use. Guided in part from historic records and Phase 1 drilling results, three high priority zones have emerged. D99Z: In early 2026, a 5 hole, first phase program was successful in validating and expanding 1999 results. The zone was given the moniker “D99Z”. The surface mineralization width in the D99Z has been defined as up to 100m. 67Z: Two holes carried out in 2002 included TAK-02-06 and TAK-02-07, intercepting 3.08 g/t Au over 7.57 m (plus 7.0 g/t Au over 1.1 m) and 3.18 g/t Au over 8.7 m (incl. 9.67 g/t Au over 0.8 m), respectively (Southern Rio, 2002). These intercepts were some of the best in recorded history on the Tak Patents, and the area was given the title “67Z” by Ashley. In Phase 2 drilling, Ashley deployed 3 holes on IP line 250 to target the zone and collect data on lithologies, as well as dip. NTZ: The Northern Trench Zone (“NTZ”) comprises five trenches, up to 2m wide, 2m deep and some as long as 60m. This area has no drilling records, yet was worked vigorously, as evidenced by the scale of the trench networks. Ashley discovered a high-grade gold zone through prospecting, sampling up to 398 g/t Au. Phase 3 drilling will allocate some meterage to test these zones with no historic drill records. Prospecting has confirmed a surface trend of over 300m, open in all directions. January 1940s - Long Lac Minerals (Mosher Long Lac Gold Mines Ltd.), extensive surface trenching (trenches up to 70 m long) on the Tak Grid targeting gold mineralization in quartz-feldspar porphyry (QFP); followed by 1948 magnetometer survey. 1980 - Cominco, geological mapping, rock sampling, and magnetometer survey over the property identifying porphyry-hosted gold potential. 1998-1999 - Triex Resources, acquired the Tak Patents; conducted prospecting, sampling, trenching (assays 1,100–29,790 ppb Au), and drilled 10 DDH (~1,558 m total), including TAK-99-10 returning 2.082 g/t Au over 31.83 m from 3.57–35.40 m (incl. 11.778 g/t Au over 2.88 m and 7.632 g/t Au over 1.10 m); outlined stockwork quartz-carbonate veining in silicified/carbonatized QFP. 2002 - Southern Rio Resources, optioned the property from Triex and drilled 8 DDH (~1,209 m) on the Tak Grid; outlined gold mineralization over ~350 m strike length to ~100 m depth with stockwork veining, visible gold noted, and intercepts including TAK-02-06: 3.08 g/t Au over 7.57 m (plus 7.0 g/t Au over 1.1 m) and TAK-02-07: 3.18 g/t Au over 8.7 m (incl. 9.67 g/t Au over 0.8 m). January 6, 2026 - Ashley Gold Corp., acquired 100% ownership of the Tak Patents (part of Burnthut Project, ~100 ha patented ground adjoining NexGold Goliath-Gold Complex) via all-stock deal from for 3.5M shares; consolidates historical data showing bulk-tonnage QFP-hosted gold potential open in all directions; 5% NSR to Royal Gold Inc. (2.5% buyback for $1M). February 10, 2026 - Ashley Gold Corp. announced operational readiness for winter drilling campaign on Tak Patents and engagement of Abitibi Geophysics for first-ever modern OreVision IP survey to refine targets and twin historic holes. March 14, 2026 - Ashley Gold Corp., provided interim IP data revealing 1 km resistive trend on Tak Patents aligning with historic gold zones and abutting NexGold Goliath-Gold Complex. April 2–10, 2026 - Ashley Gold Corp., completed mobilization to site (drill trails, 10+ pads, rig and skidder in place) and announced crew mobilization/drilling kick-off for Phase 1 program targeting validation of historic D99Z zone and extensions.
